Hoop dreams dashed

In the simplest terms, Larry Crain Sr. wanted to bring his NBA
Development League team to La Crosse, play some basketball and make
some money doing so.

The La Crosse Center Board, which governs the 6,000-seat arena,
listened to Crain's proposals, discussed them in closed session on
three occasions, and let it be known that it, too, had to make
money.

In the end - and Thursday was indeed the official end of the
negotiations - there were several different sets of numbers tossed
from each side. Interpreting those numbers was much more difficult
than a double-double or a triple-double that one of the RimRockers
players might have recorded.

The bottom line is the sides failed to reach a compromise. The
negotiations are officially finished.

"It's a shame since we were able to overcome all of the issues
except the arena agreement which should have been the simplest of
all considerations," Crain wrote in an e-mail to the Tribune. "The
RimRockers took a chance on La Crosse based on the history of what
La Crosse had accomplished in the past from being in the CBA.

"Now, at the 11th hour the city tried to hold us hostage. If I
would have had any idea this would have happened, we would have
stayed in Little Rock. It is now too late to salvage anything for
the 2007-08 season."

La Crosse Center director Art Fahey spent Thursday afternoon
communicating with the Center Board to see if there was interest in
reconvening the board one more time. The answer, he found out, was
"no."

Board Member Phil Addis, who also headed a sub-committee that
led the negotiations, said this in an e-mail to Crain, and to the
board members:

"I have polled all members (except one, whom is unavailable) of
the Center Board regarding your last e-mail. The Board feels that
since this is the same offer which was presented to us on Tuesday,
therefore, there is no need to call another special meeting to
reconsider the same proposal.

"As you are aware, by its terms the offer expired at noon,
Thursday, May 24, 2007…"

The sides appeared to reach an agreement late last week when
minority owner Dave Pretasky - who had agreed to purchase 25
percent or $250,00 interest in the team - believed the only
obstacle remaining was who would pay for a new, or refurbished,
floor. That wasn't necessarily the case, Fahey said.

"The major facility of those additional discussions between the
board - sub-committee of (Doug) Farmer and Fahey, who were there -
when it came back to the board it looked seamless to the ownership
group. The (full) board had not seen that (proposal). The board
didn't double back or do different things. The full board never
moved from their original position," Fahey said.

"From the ownership side of things it looked seamless. The
sub-committee found some (middle) ground that would work, but it
did not."

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